gather together and make a summary of all of my medical ills and issues,
give him and idea why you cant work and to the best of your knowledge
tell him what Social Security would like to hear/see in a letter to them
from him.

Guys im setting on a gold mine and dont want to blow it to bits. My
doctor has been working with me for at least a year now. He is willing
to write into a letter what ever i give him and tell him to say. He is
willing to do this cause he trust me and knows i wont catch im in a bind
with SS or his boss. He also knows I am one of the true few this crappy
system is supposed to help and hes watched me slip thru their cracks and
get stuck in some really nasty places.

SO what i am looking from you guys is to help me a little. I know not a
singe one of us will remember 100% of everything so im hoping that
between us all putting our heads together we should cover somewhere in
the high 90's% of what should be covered.Trust me if it cant be covered
somwhere in my 6in. thick and growing file, im not claiming it. But i do
need some serious help on what to say or wording of stuff.

thanx guys!

--
Paula from AL.

paula love

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2
3rd April 07:54

j

External User

Posts: 1

What would you tell your doctor if he asked you to........ (down job)

hey, hey paula :-)

here it says http://www.disabilitysecrets.com/how2.html
" having your doctor complete a detailed statement as to why you are
disabled and unable to work. "

I can't help with details, so you have to help him out to detail the way
they mention above.
Make lists of your diagnoses (plural) and then each symptom
Beside it show 2 coloums, one how the diagnosis/symptom impacts your private
life and coping,
the other how it would impact on your ability to work. (even part-time)

Keep in mind that soemtimes if a person can't walk, they might say "find a
job sitting telephone work" (or vice versa) so if symptoms or treatments
would interfere with such, mention that.
If you get fevers or have to lie down to rest your knees or back or ice them
up, mark that on your list etc etc
Best I can think of at the moment
Hope this helps.

There may be other tips there, you have to click on the various sections and
have a quick look at suggestions mentioned there.
Hugs
J

j

3
3rd April 07:54

robert musicant

External User

Posts: 1

What would you tell your doctor if he asked you to........ (kidney down lupus impairment disability)

<snip>

Speaking as a) a lawyer who exclusively handles Social Security cases, who
b) has lupus, I would start by suggesting you find yourself a lawyer (no
need for him to be sick, however). The strength of my recommendation
depends on where you are in the process. If you are simply at the stage of
filing your application, there is actually no need for a lawyer, and if you
win your case, you get to keep all the SS benefits for yourself. If you
have received two denials, however, and are now getting ready for a hearing,
I think it would be a mistake to proceed without legal counsel.

Be that as it may, SS wants to know a) what you have; b) how your doctor
knows you have it, and c) most importantly, how what you have -- and the
treatment for it -- affects your ability to do the sorts of things one
needs to do in order to be able to work. (Sit, stand, walk, lift, speak,
concentrate, follow directions, etc, etc, etc, For a complete list, examine
your disability file at SS and look for the "residual functional capacity"
form). One of the biggest mistakes patients and doctors make is focusing
on the illness itself, and not paying enough attention to the functional
limitations caused by the illness. You also want to avoid statements like,
"As a result, Paula is disabled." "Disabled" is a legal conclusion drawn by
the folks at SS based on the evidence-supported statements of your
functional limitations. What the majority of cases come down to is whether
or not you can reasonably claim, based on the evidence in your chart, that
you do not have the physical/mental ability to do the least demanding of
jobs on a 5 day a week, 6-8 hour a day basis.

Assuming your condition is not so serious that you get an automatic pass:
E.g., kidney failure, regular seizures, inability to stand, etc, you are
going to have to explain first, why you can't do the work you used to do,
and then why you can't do any other work either.

The classic undemanding job is the security agent who sits and watches a
bank of TV monitors and calls headquarters when suspicious activity is
detected. So focus your answer on why you couldn't do a jpb like that on an
ongoing basis. Have to be in bed x days per month? Joints/back ache too
much to sit the length of time required of a person trying to do a sedentary
job? Frequent periods of confusion that make it impossible to concentrate
on anything for more than 15 minutes at a time? Three head-splitting
migraines a week?

Here's an especially useful one: Unable to do repetitive hand work? Even
though that is not required for the security job, as a practical matter you
should be deemed disabled if that is the case.

The more you can relate your limitations to what appears in your chart, the
better. However, not all is lost if your chart characterizes you as a set
of lab results. Once some "severe impairment" is demonstrated on the basis
of a properly made diagnosis, the decision-makers at SS are supposed to take
into account your description of your subjective experience. They don't
have to BELIEVE that account; your credibility will also be assessed. But
you don't have to shrink from talking about how it FEELS just because it
can't be objectively demonstrated.

Hope this is somewhere within the ballpark of what you were looking for.

Good luck,
Bob

robert musicant

4
6th April 21:20

sherry

External User

Posts: 1

What would you tell your doctor if he asked you to........ (disability)

Robert,
I think that Paula has had an attorney and I believe that she has been
denied. I hope that she is trying again and with a "new" attorney this
time!

Something that some of us need to remember (and you might know more details)
If you have stopped working because of your illness but haven't bothered to
file SS disability don't wait too long. I did and discovered that I no
longer qualified. So it is either go back to work and get enough points
again or just forget about all the years that I did work and wait till I'm
old enough to draw my social security (if there is anything left of that in
12-15 yrs <g>)

If you know of any good lawyers in Alabama I'm sure that Paula would love to
be pointed in the right direction!

Sherry

sherry

5
6th April 21:20

j

External User

Posts: 1

What would you tell your doctor if he asked you to........ (job)

My read on this is that the doctor doesn't have time and/or doesn't want to take
the chance of messing up and her having to go through all this again.

My concern would be that a lawyer is not necessarily medical (as in Robert's
case) and may not prompt Paula in the right way to get all of the details of her
various problems (which would/could have an impact on not getting denied a 2nd
time). It may not have been done properly the first time and/or there's more to
add to the list since some time has passed.

Besides, if Payla can get everything properly organized (and I agree it's a big
job not to forget anything and be consistent with the first forms, yet provide
every single detail . What I read on the other newsgroup is "bury them with
details and copies of tests and do***entation". (all organized of course).
Maybe Robert could speak to this?

And I do agree that a lawyer must be there for a hearing (later).
J

j

6
6th April 21:21

robert musicant

External User

Posts: 1

What would you tell your doctor if he asked you to........ (disability weight)

It is hard for me to make specific suggestions without knowing more about
the stage Paula is at. Social Security disability cases involve specialized
knowledge and the attorney employed should be one who has the appropriate
experience. Using a "G.P." lawyer for a SS case is like going to a medical
GP for brain surgery.

Again, this is best done by an attorney who knows exactly how to present
such a case. Twenty-four consecutive positive ANAs carries little more
weight than two widely spaced tests, such as one at or near the time the
applicant first knew she was sick, and one closer in time to the hearing or
time of application. The important thing is the evidence of how the illness
affects the person's "functional capacity."

I would like to know if Paula is just at the stage of re-applying, rather
than appealing an earlier denial.

robert musicant

7
6th April 21:21

robert musicant

External User

Posts: 1

What would you tell your doctor if he asked you to........ (impairment)

That's not correct, and that is where potential applicants can sometimes be
led astray by uninformed SS personnel at the local office. The truth is
fairly complicated, but the bottom line is that if you were "disabled," in
the sense that SS uses the term, at the time you stopped working, you can go
apply now. The crucial date in not the date of application, but the
"alleged onset date." That onset date must be within that period in which
you were still a member of the workforce. I am deliberately simplifying,
but as a rough cut, you would be deemed a member of the workforce as much as
five years after you actually stopped working. So the hard part could be
proving you were disabled "back then" as well as now.

A stark example from an actual case: A man is out in the big world working
for 15 years after graduating from high school. He suffers deteriorating
mental health, returns to his parents' home in 1974, and essentially spends
the next 20 years in his bedroom without being assessed by a doctor. In
1995 he is finally persuaded to seek whatever government benefits are
available. At around the same time he finally consults with a psychiatrist,
who can certify that the man has a disabling mental impairment. At this
point, in order to be eligible to collect SSD, the man must prove that this
same mental condition existed at some point within the five years after he
stopped working, i.e., that he was disabled as of the 1970s. As a practical
matter, this may not always be possible, but in the case I am referring to,
the man was able to garner appropriate evidence, and was granted benefits.
It took a federal court decision, but he collected.

So the trouble with "waiting too long" is 1) that you are losing potential
benefits, as SS only pays retroactive benefits for up to a year prior to the
date of application (so in the case described above the man was out about 20
years worth of benefits), and 2) that as the time since you stopped working
increases, there are greater problems with proving you were disabled as of the relevant date.

But if you are capable of doing that full-time, you are not really disabled.

or just forget about all the years that I did work and wait till I'm

She should contact the National Organization of Social Security Claimants'
Representatives, 1-800-431-2804, and they will give her a referral.

Bob

robert musicant

8
6th April 21:21

sherry

External User

Posts: 1

What would you tell your doctor if he asked you to........ (migraine down job)

Thanks for responding.
I have not gone back to the work force because I know that I'm not capable
of holding down a full time job or even a part time one. I can barely
manage to cook and clean. (if I dust, I can not vacuum on the same day and
so forth) If I do it all in one or two days then I can plan on going to bed
to recover. I can no longer stand or sit for any period of time unless I
want to cry myself to sleep (if sleep comes) from the pain that I am in. I
could not do my paperwork without constantly checking and rechecking my work
to make sure that I did it, did it correctly, and filed it with the proper
agencies. Made for a very long day. Not to mention the migraine headaches
that I suffer (ed) weekly.

I may not be "legally" disabled or may not meet the SS requirements. But I
know what I was capable of doing, what I am not capable of doing and what it
does to me physically and mentally if I try to do what I once could . <g>
So I opted out of the work force for me and my health.

Is it normal for a doctors office to charge by the hour to fill out the
paperwork requested by the SS disibility people?

Hopefully Paula will jump in on this thread.

Once again thank you.

Sherry

sherry

9
6th April 21:22

robert musicant

External User

Posts: 1

What would you tell your doctor if he asked you to........ (disability)

Then you should apply for disability benefits. The name of the Social
Security program is "Old Age, Survivors, and Disability INSURANCE." You
paid your insurance premium and you are entitled to collect.

I've never heard of them charging to fill out the papers sent directly by
Social Security. The forms I use in my work ask for much more, so I can
expect to have to pay. But not all charge for that either.

Bob

robert musicant

10
6th April 21:22

j

External User

Posts: 1

What would you tell your doctor if he asked you to........ (disability)

It's (her posts) are in the archives.

The only lawyers up here (Canada) are community "free" lawyers. They can get
quite a grasp on health issues, if they have time, they don't. Most lawyers up
here don't know (nor want to) know the 2 types of disability benefits. I'm sure
they'd learn fast if there was enough money in it for them.

Actually ANA has little to do with disability (the degree of or other) except
that it might be mentioned in the specilist's paperwork as part of the diagnosis.

Most people have more than one. For instance, take Bev <just kidding> she has
shoulder problems. We don't usually see that on any Lupus websites, so that's a
distinct and separately noted issue, which impacts on her ability to work, which
has to be listed for the functional capacity issues.
J